Pre-concert Reception Raises Questions

Sources Say Democrats Spent More At Meadows Party Than Listed

April 09, 1997|By ALAN LEVIN and JON LENDER; Courant Staff Writers

Though it pulled in $9,250, the fund-raiser was a dud.

Guests were few. Organizers say those who showed up got warm soda and chips in a roped-off area at the Meadows Music Theatre in Hartford. Some guests abandoned the event for the better-catered corporate tent nearby.

But the state Senate Democrats' fund-raiser -- partly organized by lobbyist James P. Sandler and held at an Elton John concert Aug. 13, 1995 -- raises new questions about whether politicians received preferential treatment at the Meadows. The Meadows and Sandler last month paid a record $250,000 ethics fine.

The Committee for Democratic Leadership, which is headed by Senate President Kevin B. Sullivan, D-West Hartford, was able to hold its pre-concert reception at a grassy area often reserved for private corporate parties and received at least some token catering, several sources told The Courant. Through Sandler, guests were able to get tickets to the concert, which was one of the more popular events at the Meadows that year.

Yet spending records filed with the secretary of the state's office list no expenditures by the PAC for concert tickets, access to the VIP area or food.

Roy Occhiogrosso, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats, said Tuesday that the fund-raiser's costs were not reported because they did not exceed $100, which he said is the legal threshold. People who gave to the committee and wanted to attend the concert bought their tickets separately, he said.

All the $250 donation to the committee did ``was get you into the fund-raiser. It also gave you the opportunity to buy from Jim Sandler, if you so desired, a ticket to the concert,'' said Occhiogrosso.

But the Democrats' account of the fund-raiser does not always jibe with that of sources connected to the Meadows and raised a question in the mind of one of Sullivan's chief Republican rivals in the state Senate.

Republican Senate Deputy Minority Leader James T. Fleming, R- Simsbury, said Tuesday night, ``Based on what you've told me, it appears that maybe . . . they failed to properly report expenses made at this fund-raiser. I think it is certainly worth the [State Elections Enforcement Commission] looking into whether this is the case.''

Asked if he would request an investigation, Fleming declined comment.

Jeffrey B. Garfield, executive director for the elections commission, could not be reached late Tuesday to comment on the statements by Occhiogrosso and Fleming.

Last month, the State Ethics Commission fined Sandler, a lobbyist and attorney, and the Meadows on charges he passed out an estimated $100,000 in gifts -- mostly concert tickets -- to public employees, officials and their family members. State law requires that such gifts by lobbyists be reported to the ethics agency.

Additionally, Gov. John G. Rowland on Friday agreed to pay a $2,000 ethics fine and donate $1,919 to charity to settle ethics charges that he accepted gifts of Meadows' concert tickets in excess of the yearly $50 limit. Rowland became the first Connecticut governor to be fined in an ethics case.

Sandler, a close associate of concert promoter James Koplik, helped organize the Meadows event for Sullivan's committee. The committee played an important role in the Democrat's fight to regain majority control of the Senate.

``The Committee for Democratic Leadership invites you to rock out under the stars to the music of Elton John,'' said the invitation. The hosts were retired Sen. William A. DiBella, D-Hartford, and Sullivan. It listed Sandler's law office telephone number for people wishing to RSVP.

A total of 37 tickets to the fund- raiser at $250 each were sold, the PAC's records show, though many of the donors told The Courant they did not attend the show. The sole expenditure listed in connection with the fund-raising event was a $299.37 bill for the invitations.

Sources connected to the Meadows said the VIP area in which the reception was held typically cost far more than $100 to rent for the night. The actual cost to the committee couldn't be determined. Another corporate reception was also held in the VIP area that night.

Occhiogrosso described the area as encircled by ``a piece of rope'' between ``the parking lot and the [Meadows] facility itself. . . . It was not plush surroundings.'' The food served, he said, was ``a bag of a stale tortilla chips and two six-packs of lukewarm soda that had to be chilled in a mini-cooler.''

Koplik, an original partner in the Meadows who now manages it, and Sandler did not return telephone calls Tuesday.

Sullivan was participating in a panel discussion Tuesday night and was unavailable to answer questions. Occhiogrosso said Sullivan attended the concert but the Senate leader is unsure whether he bought a ticket. Occhiogrosso said Sullivan believes he sat within the first 10 rows of seats, and tickets cost about $42.

Occhiogrosso said he did not know whether DiBella had attended. There was no sign-in sheet at the fund-raiser and he did not know how many ticket-buyers actually went. He said only Sandler would know how many people bought concert tickets.

Sullivan attended two Meadows concerts that year. The first was opening night, which dozens of officials attended in their official capacity and does not have to be counted against the annual gift limit according to the State Ethics Commission, Occhiogrosso said.